State scales back union contract offer AFSCME leader says new law ‘trashes’ 40 years of negotiations

DES MOINES - State negotiators Wednesday offered a scaled-back contract proposal to Iowa's largest public employees' union that conformed to a new state law by dropping health care and other fringe benefits in a move the union's leader angrily said 'trashed” 40 years of bargaining.

The state's eight-page initial offer for a new two-year contract with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees - or AFSCME - Council 61 to take effect July 1 proposed to raise base pay by 1 percent each of the next two fiscal years but deleted most of the other provisions of the current labor agreement.

Janet Phipps, director of the Iowa Department of Administrative Services and lead state negotiator, said the state's 'restart” offer 'takes into account the current law that was enacted” by the GOP-led Legislature and signed by Gov. Terry Branstad last week - a major overhaul that AFSCME has challenged in court to block its implementation.

In presenting its new approach, the state's negotiating team struck whole articles of the current collective bargaining agreement with AFSCME that dealt with health and dental benefits, deferred compensation, sick leave, holidays, grievance and layoff procedures, seniority, transfers, hours of work, dues deductions, management rights and reprisal.

Phipps said the state depleted sections 'that we believe are currently prohibited and there are no ‘permissives' in there as well.”

AFSCME Council 61 President Danny Homan said that position is different from the way the governor and Republican legislators said the new collective bargaining process would work in recent public comments, legislative debate and community forums.

'During the whole process of the passage of this new law which you cited, I heard countless times over and over and over, including the governor, that said this new law does not prohibit the employees and employers from sitting down at the table and discussing items,” Homan said at the close of the open portion of Wednesday's bargaining session.

'This proposal is a complete contradiction to not only what the Republican senators and the Republican House members said during the course of the passage of that ill-thought-out law and the expedited passage of that ill-thought-out law and comments that the governor of this state of Iowa made,” he added. 'This basically trashes 40 years of negotiations between this union and the state.

'It is what it is, but for the record this proposal is a complete contradiction to what the Republican senators and House members and the governor said - not only why they passed that bill but what they said last Saturday at forums,” Homan said. 'To say that I'm disappointed is an understatement.”

For their part, unionized employees sought a 1 percent across-the-board wage increase at the start of each of the state's next two fiscal years along with step increases. They also offered to increase their contributions for health insurance premiums to $50 a month for single plans and $75 a month for family and double-spouse plans. The rest of the contract language would remain unchanged.

'I believe this reflects this union's sincere effort to try and reach voluntary agreement,” Homan said.

Earlier this week, AFSCME Council 61 and four members of the union's bargaining team filed a lawsuit in Polk County District Court challenging the constitutionality of House File 291, approved by lawmakers Thursday and signed into law by Branstad one day later.

Joining AFSCME as plaintiffs were Jonathon Good, a correctional officer at the Clarinda Correctional Facility; Ryan De Vries, an Iowa State University police officer; Terra Kinney, a motor vehicle enforcement officer; and Susan Baker, a drafter at University of Northern Iowa. Named as defendants were the state of Iowa, the Public Employment Relations Board and the state court administrator.

According to Homan, the basis for the challenge is the law's unequal treatment of employees. More specifically, the suit claims the law - which does not remove the full slate of negotiable issues for the state's public safety employees - deprives the plaintiffs the 'constitutional guaranty of equality of all before the law” as set forth in the Iowa Constitution.

In its initial offer in the restart of talks with the State Police Officers Council bargaining unit earlier this week, the state made the same 1 percent yearly wage increase offer but did not delete existing contract provisions like it did in the AFSCME proposal. Also, the state did not offer State Police Officers Council members an initial insurance proposal but included language indicating 'the state agrees to provide health and dental benefits as determined by the state to eligible bargaining unit members.”

l Comments: (515) 243-7220; rod.boshart@thegazette.com